Ah, true enough! But I think the days of planned obsolescence are behind us. BMW has a huge investment in this new engine and it is scheduled to be the the base engine in many BMW products for many years to come. They really cannot afford to put out an inferior product with all of the public awareness that comes out through social media (like NAM). Just my .02

 

If you ever get the MOST out of your MINI, stop right there and put it back in!


Dontcha know the MOST is the most important part, anyway?

 

Software is not free to develop, test, and support.

 

Like it or hate it, auto start/stop has been around in Europe for years and is now standard across all of the BMW lineup, all current and future 3rd gen MINIs, and many new cars from other manufacturers. It's not going away. If you don't like it, switch it off and be glad MINIs remember the setting.

A beefed up starter motor will prevent premature wear.

It took some getting used to at first, but I like having it as it works pretty seamlessly. It really only becomes bothersome in stop and go traffic, in which case, I either turn it off or put my shifter into M/S mode (if it isn't already) to defeat it.

 

My dealer actually encouraged me to turn off the stop/start in stop and go traffic as it really is not made for that and is annoying. I took his advice.

 

[QUOTE=VicSkimmr;4074891] Make sure you tape off all the textured plastic bits before waxing.

FWIW, I find that a bit of 409 (cleaner) sprayed on a corner edge of a cloth will take off any wax that may have gotten on the textured plastic.

Don't use to clean leather seats.

My MINI has 2 waxings now and although I'm careful about getting the wax on the textured plastic, I do get a little on it here and there. It wipes off during the buffing process but shows up after being out for a few days, doing the 409 on a cloth edge and carefully hitting those spots, the wax is gone.

Best glass cleaner is a bit of Vinegar in water.

 

It seems to me the start/stop controversy really applies to the auto transmission users, yes? As a manual user, it's very intuitive.

 

I tried it in ours (2015 MCS automatic), In traffic where you stop and then have to creep forward, the start/stop is very noticeable. Best described as laggy and jerky (almost like here is something wrong with the engine) if you've never tried it before. For the fuel I burn idling vs. the rather wonky behavior, I'll keep mine turned off.

Averaging high 30's between (36.8 and 38.8 MPG) with ours in tour mode and start /stop disabled.

Again, no right or wrong answer here, just a matter of personal preference.


Something of note for those with the Storage option. You can configure your storage area so when you fold the rear seats, the entire area is flat. Pull the storage lid out and set the hinged area to the higher setting (there are two separate detents) one (default) where you have s step up to the folded seat and a higher one that makes the area flat.

 

This is the option I most regret not having. Didn't want to wait when a car on the lot had almost everything I wanted. I enquired to my SA about retrofitting my car with the storage option, and it would have been close upwards of $2K with labor. Currently I have the trunk tray with the floor mat above it for a poor-man's storage option Works like a charm (without the flat loading floor).

 

Sooooo, one feature that's really interesting (and I've used it a few times) is the CLIMATE option which ventilates the car at pre-determined intervals. You can set ONE or TWO timers and the car will perform (without you there) a 45 minute cycle which activates the fan on what seems to be an almost SUB "level 1" speed. The fan brings in fresh air from outside and does a pretty good job at cleaning up the mess of hot air stuck in the car.

Another trick (for folks with the comfort access option) is to work the settings to avoid having the "double press" requirement on the rubber door handle button to lock all doors. As many have discovered, depending on how you have your LOCK settings through the car, the FIRST press of the button upon exiting the car will actually unlock the passenger side...you then have to wait 2 seconds and push it again to lock all doors. If, however, you manually hit the door unlock button on the driver side upon exiting the vehicle, the doors will lock on the first press of the rubber door handle button.

 

Cool tip!

 

OK lets get this tread back on topic.
1 - If you have the big screen you can watch movies. Feels like you are in a theater with the surround audio.
2 - If you have the HUD it is great for nav at night in a strange town/place. Once you are using the HUD you can change the main screen to something else and the HUD will still direct you.....and quite well when it comes to hwy. exits and small changes.
3 - When you open the car with keyless entry make sure you have the car set up to open all locks otherwise when you lock it you have toe hit the button 3 or 4 times to get it to work.
4 - The battery has a box beside it with many extra big fuses. This is really handy if you want to run a high amp cable for a big amp. You need to pull the battery to do this and penetrate the firewall so not a job for the weak of heart!
5 - If you are installing the driving lights - Don't put the switch where MINI tell you. It is impossible to see when you are driving. Install it beside the fog light switches.
6 - You can turn the disco "ring" light off if you don't like it.
7 - The MCS has a fake exhaust/engine sound pumped into the car. You can bypass this. The car is very quiet without it. Look for threads on how to do this if you are interested. The justa engine is louder than the MCS.
8 - If you have a sunroof some people say that if you 3 tap the opening button the roof will open all the way without stopping. I personally could never get this to work.